Aliphatic polyesters are highly sustainable, because many of the required dicarboxylic acids can be produced from renewable resources and the polyesters have potential for biodegradation. In this work, we polymerized 1,4-butanediol with even numbered dicarboxylic acids from succinic acid (C4) to eicosanedioic acid (C20). The polyesters were synthesized by melt polymerization and applying titanium(IV) butoxide as catalyst. The polyesters’ structures were verified by 1H and 13C NMR. DSC measurements were applied to determine melting temperatures and crystallinities. Thermal degradation temperatures were determined by TGA. Molecular weights and polydispersities were measured by size exclusion chromatography. We also measured the water based contact angles of the polyesters before and after treatment with VUV (vacuum ultraviolet) photooxidation. In addition, AFM and SEM measurements were conducted.

Influence of even-numbered C4-C20 dicarboxylic acids on the properties of sustainable aliphatic polyesters, including wettability before and after plasma surface treatment with VUV photo-oxidation

ACS Spring 2022

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